Archive for June 23rd, 2010

Dutch Oven Cooking, 1

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

This is passport to Texas

Whether the Dutch invented the Dutch oven isn’t exactly clear. What is clear, is using one of these cast iron pots simplifies outdoor cooking.

:06—And you can cook anything that you would at home, on a fire, outdoors, while you’re camping with your family or friends.

Tim Spice is in education and outreach at Parks and Wildlife and currently serving as a Command Sergeant Major in the Army Reserves in Iraq. In use since the 1700s, Spice says Dutch ovens have changed little.

:10—Today the Dutch oven has legs on the bottom and a rim on the lid so that you can put coals under it and on top of it and cook as you would in your oven at home.

Temperature control is critical in any kind of cooking. Dutch ovens don’t have a thermostat or controls, so what do you do?

:22—You hold your hand six inches above the coals…thousand one…thousand two….thousand three…if you have to pull your hand away sooner because it’s uncomfortable from the heat – it’s hotter than three-fifty. If you can hold your hand longer than three seconds, it’s colder than three-fifty. And, since most food is cooked at three hundred and fifty degrees in the oven, that’s where you’ll want to start gauging your heat.

Spice says have fun with your Dutch oven.

:12—Don’t be intimidated by that Dutch oven. Grab one and take it home and practice. And then, take your folks out to the state park and spend the day and have a great meal at the end of a great day outdoors.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti